Dial engraving machine



ll supplied by the motor ill through the gears ll 1 bas me t 93 UNIT D STATE s 'PATENTTOFFI-C-E mar. ENGRAVING mounts not a. Satterlee, Needham, m, assignor to Submarine Signal Company, Boston, Mass, a

corporation of Maine.

muautn June 2:, 1037, Serial to. 150,789 2' 14' (llaima. (o1. 3s'-19) i The present invention relates to engraving machines and more particularly, to machines for engraying the divisions on a dial. v

A plan view of the machine is shownin Fig. 1

. of the drawings and a front elevation partly in section in'Fig. 2; Fig. 3 is a sectional view alon the line III-III in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the cutting head along the line IV-IV in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 isan enlarged cross sectional view along the line V-V in Fig.-2; Fig. 6 is an enlarged partial section along the line -VI-,VI in Fig. 2; and Fig. 'i is an enlarged cross sectional view along the line VIi -VIL' .As shown in thedrawings a plate or" diali 16 which. is to be engraved is mounted upon a table 2,'being centered thereon by the stud I and securely clamped by means of the disc 4 and the wing nut 5. Radial graduations i are cut in the dial by the reciprocating motion of a cutting head 20 1 carrying the cutting tool I, the dial being automatically advanced by the proper angular dis tanee after each stroke of the cutter head.

, The entiremechanism is mounted upon abase member 2.. Power for operating the machine is a member2lisfixedtoaram2ladaptedtoslide in a groove," formed in the ram guide 28' which I is preferably made integrally with the base I. Theramllisretainedinthegroovebymeans of the members II and 22 which arefixed to a the ram-guide 22. The rain 24 is'substantially 'thesamelengthastheram guide 22. Y

A stud 2! is mounted'in the side of the ram 24- and forms a pivot bearing for the cutter head support 28. the latter being secured by means of Al the nut 21. Also secured to the rarnM-is'la pin 22 which projects into the cutter head carrier 26 through an elliptical aperture. Pressing against the pin 28 is'a coil spring 22 mounted in a ver-. tical hole in the bottom of the cutter head carso rier 2! and held therein by means of the set screw- II. This spring aiwaystends-to press the lefthandend oi the cutter head support downward and consequently tends to raise'the cutter head I. The downward motion of the left-hand end I l of the cutter head carrier'is limitedby the size of the aperture in which the pin 28' moves and is made sumcient to raise the cutter head w above the work being engraved.

The ram guide 22 also carries the pin 32 near its forward upper edge. 'The latter is adapted 5 to engage adetent 34 mounted on the top of the cutter head carrier 28 and brings about a depression of the cutter head at the end of its backward stroke, wherebythe cutter 8 is placed in cutting position.

The cutter head carrier 28 is held in cutting position during its forward stroke by the latch mechanism above referred to. This consists of a 1 pin SI mounted in the end of the cutter head carrier 20, which pin is engaged by the end I. of

- the latch rod 21 slidably mounted in the sleeve 38 which is fixed to the member 2i. The latter has a hollow portion through which the rod 21 Surrounding the rod within this hollow portion is a spring 39 whose left-hand end bears against the left wall of member 2| andwhose right-hand end bears against a collar 40 on the. rod 31. The spring thus exerts a pressure on the rod "tending to force it outward to the right so that the portion ll engages the pin of the cut- 25 ter head carrier, thereby holding the latter in cutting position against the pressure of spring 2..

'At the left end of the rod 31 there is mounted a dog ll which is adapted to engage one or more of the discs 42 which can best be seen in Fig. 6. so The latter are mounted on a stud 43 fixed in a shoulder 44 of the ram guide 23. The discs 42 have notches ll cut in them in various positions tovpermit the dog 4i and consequently the rod 21 to travel in a forward direction various desired 5 distances before releasing the pin 25, in order to permit adiustment of the length of stroke of the cutter 2. The discs 42 are held in position on the stud 42 by a pin which is fixed to a ratchet l1.-

vThe ratchet andv discs may be clamped against a o shoulderllonthestudllbymeansof'awingnut'. u. .The 'disc and ratchet amembly is-rotated through a/desired angle for each stroke of the cutter head by means of a pawl It. The latter is fixed by the pin Ii to the bell crank I2 which 46 is pivoted on the stud 42 and carries on its lower. arm a pin II. The pin- I3 is engagedby the forkv formedbythepins I4 andllsetintheendof' the arm 56 fastened to the hollow shaft 81. The latter is fixed to another arm II. The two arms 60 "and 58 together with the shaft I! are rotatablymounted on a stud ll which is fastmed to the base. oscillatory motion is transmitted to the arm N by means of a roller which rotatu onthestuu II fixedtothearmll an'disdriven 66 'by frictional contact with the eccentric driving is provided by the arrangement shown in Fig. '4.

cam II. In order to secure proper contact between thecam and the roller 9. spring. 82 is provided to press the roller 68 against the cam I4. I A similar cam and roller system serves to rotate the dial-supporting table 2 through the desired angle between graduations. This system comprises the roller 68 which is also driven by the cam I4 and rotates about the stud- 64 fixed to the arm 65. The roller 68 is pressed into contact with the cam I4 by means of the springs 66. The arm 65 is fixed to a hollow shaft 81 whose other end carries the arm 68, the assembly of the two arms and hollow shaft being arranged to rotate on the stud 69 fixed to the base. Two pins I8 and II mounted inthe end of the arm 68 form a fork which engages the pin I2 fixed in the end of one arm of the bell crank I8, the

other arm of which carries the pawl II which engages the ratchet I5. The latter is fixed toa shaft I6 but the bell crank 18 is free to rotate on this shaft. One end of the shaft is journaled in a bearing in the support 11 fixed to the base, the other end being journaled in bearings in the support I8 beneath the table. 2. Between the crank I8 and the ratchet I5 there is p ovided a 4 cam I9 which is free to be turned on the shaft I6.

It is held in desired positions by a locking screw 88 which projects through an aperture 8I in the support I1. As shown in Fig. 5, the cam I9 has a cutaway portion which permits the pawl I4 to engage the ratchet 'I5-for a definite number of teeth depending upon the cam position.

Rotation of the shaft I6 is transmitted to the table 2 by means of the worm gear 82 and a pinion 88 fixed to a boss 88 on the table 2 by means of the screws 85 which are threaded into a disc 88. A shaft 81 is firmly fixed to the table 2 and terminates above it in the stud 8.. The shaft 81 servesto center the gear 88 and the disc 86 as well as a similar disc 88 which has a shoulder 89. The joint between the discs 86 and :88 is carefully lapped to provide an accurate hearing so that the table 2 will always remain'and rotate in a fixed plane. The disc 88 on its lower side has a shoulder 98 which passes through the base 8. At the lower end of the shoulder'98 ,a thrustbearing screw III is screwed into the shaft 8li and bears against the lower surface of the shoulder 98, thereby pressing the disc 88 against the disc 5 In order to adjust the position of the table 2 with respect to the cutter 8 to care for varying diameters of dials, a longitudinal adjustment of the table is provided. This comprises a longitudinal slot in the base 9 in which is fitted a rectangular shoulder 92 forming part of the plate 89. 'I'hisshoulder 92 is closely fitted in the slot in the base 9 to providean. accurate guide for longitudinal motion of the table. The table is locked in position by means of a disc 83 bearing against the base 9 by four screws 88, pressure being applied by the ring 95 threaded on the exterior of the shoulder 98. A handle 96 may be The cutter 8 is provided with a forked upper portion I88 which passes around the neck of the as shown in Fig. 4.

- The operation of the machine is as fo-llowsz Let us assume that ,the proper adjustments have been made and that a disc of material I to be engraved is secured to the table 2. Further as- .Sume that the cutter head carrier 26 is in its extreme left-hand position. In this position the pin 38 will have engaged the detent 84, depressing the cutter 8 below the upper surface of the material and at the same time raising the left end of the cutter head carrier including the pin 85. pass below the pin whereby the cutter will be maintained in cutting position. As the motor revolves, the cutter head carrier 26 is forced forward by power transmitted to it through the link I5 and the bar I8 so that the cutter 8 engages and cuts the dial to, be engraved. When the dog 4| strikes one of thediscs 42, the continued forward motion of the ram 24 and the member 2I causes the latch 86 to be drawn intothe member 2| and therefore to release the pin 22 so that under the action of the spring 29 the cutter-carrying. end of the member 26 is forced upward withdrawing the cutter 8 from the material I. Since at this time the cutter 8 is still moving in a forward direction, it will take a smooth upwardly tapering cut, thereby cleaning all chips out of the cut. Forward motion oi the cutter head continues until the central position of ,the eccentric shaft I8 is reached, at which time the link I5 begins to pull the bar I8 and the cutter head assembly back.

While the cutter head has been advancing, the bell crank I8 has been rotated through a certain angle, counter-clockwise as shown in Fig. 5, by the motion of the arm 68 through the roller 88. This motion of the bell crank I8 carries the pawl I4 downwardalong the ratchet I5.

In a similar manner the bell crank 52 will have carried .the pawl 58, clockwise as shown in Fig. 5,

along the ratchet IIL During the backward travel of the cutter head assembly the bell crank I8 will be turned clockwise as seen in Fig. 5, causing the pawl I4 to en.-

jgage the ratchet I5 and turn it through aicer- This rotates the shaft I6 and the tain angle. worm 82, thereby causing a rotation of the table 2 through a definite angle to place it in the proper position for'the second cut. At the same time the bell crank 52 will have rotated the ratchet 81 through the pawl 58 through a certain angle, therebyadvancing the position of the disc assembly 42.

The sequence of operations is then repeated.

Adjustment of the angle, through which the This will have permitted the latch 86 to iii plate 2 is turned and therefore of the spacing between successive graduations cut in the dial, is

made by adjusting the number of teeth in the ratchet "5 which are engaged by the pawl I4.

dial in such a manner that each tenth-cut is conamass e siderably longer than the divisions between while each fifth cut is intermediate in length. This or cut away so that'the dog will strike the second. of the discs,'while for a. very short cut the dog is arranged to strike the outermost of the three discs. By suitablespacin'g of the cuts in the discs and suitable variations in the thicknesses of the discs in association with the proper number of teeth on the ratchet l1 and the angle of motion of the pawl 50, any'desired combination of lengths of cuts canbe obtained. A- handwheel I03 on the end of the driving motor shaft provides flywheel action and further is of particular value in makirig possible manual operation of the'machine whereby accurate adjustment of the proper depth of the cutter can readily be made. The depth of cut is conveniently indicated by graduation on the top of the cutteradjusting screw II and the index I04.

By the use of the present machine, dials can,

j easily be calibrated by degrees around-the whole the cutting stroke, latch means for holding the circumference in one minute or less.

Having now described my invention, I claim:. 1; A dial-engraving machine including a cutter, means for moving the same over the dial in a succession of cutting strokes of constant length V dial in a cutting direction, means for delimiting .40

the length of out including means for depressing the cutter below the surface of the dial at the beginning of the cutting stroke and means for raising the cutter outof the dial when the desired length'oi cut has been made andwhile the cutter is still moving in the cutting direction.

3. A dial-engraving machine including a cut-' ter, means for reciprocating the cutter, over the dial .in-a radial direction, means for depressing the cutter to take a cut from the edge of the dial toward the center and means for raising-the cutter out oi the dial when the desired length of I out has been made'and while the cutter is still moving toward the center of the dial.

4. In a dial-engraving machine, a cutter, means for moving the cutter radially over the dial in a cutting direction, means for delimiting the length of out including means for depressing the cutter below the surface of the dial at the beginning of cutter in cutting position and meansv for releasing the latch and raising the cutter when the desired length ofout has been made.

5. A dial-engraving machine comprising means for supportingthe dial to be engraved, a cutter,

means tor reciprocating the cutter radiallyove'r the dial, means for delimiting a portion of the -cutters stroke in whicha cut is taken, means cooperating with "the reciprocating means for withdrawing the cutter from the material in other portions of the cutters stroke and means synchronized with said reciprocating means for advancing the dial by a predetermined angular deviation after each cutting stroke. v

raising the cutter out of the dial when the desired length of out has been made and while the cating the cutter radially over the dial, means for,

cutter is still moving in the. cutting direction and means synchronized with the cutter reciprocating means for rotating the dial through a prede- "ter-mined angle to place it in position for the next out while the cutter is being tial position.

7. A' dial-engraving machine includinga cutreturned to its initer, a rotatable table for supporting the dial to be engraved in position to be'engaged by said cutter, means for reciprocating the cutter radially over the dial and means for advancing the table through a predetermined angle corresponding to the number of'graduations to be cut in the dial including a. ratchet, a. pawl adapted to. engage the ratchet, means for transmitting motion of the ratchet to the table, means synchronized with the cutter reciprocating means for oscillating the pawl through a fixed angle and means for-selectively varying the number of ratchet teeth engaged-by the pawl in its oscillations.

8. Adlai-engraving machine including a 1'0- tatable table for supporting the dial to be engraved, a cutter, means for reciprocatingthe cutter radially over the dial, and means for advancing the table through a predetermined angle after each cutting stroke comprising a gear fixed to the table, a shaft, a worm fixed to said shaft and adapted to mesh with said first gear, a ratchet fixed to said shaft, a bell-crank, means synchronized with the cutter-reciprocating means-for oscillating said crank through a fixed angle and a pawl mounted on one arm of said crank and positioned to engage said ratchet.

9. A dial-engraving machine including a rotatable table for supporting the dial to be engraved, a cutter, means for reciprocating thecutter radially over the dial, and means for advancing' the table through a predetermined angle after pawl mounted on one arm of said crank and positioned to engage said ratchet, a cam having a diameter at least as large as that of said ratchet and being loosely mounted on said shaft adjacent I to the ratchet, said' cam having a cut-away peripheral portion of a length corresponding to the angle of oscillation 01 said pawl, the latter having suiiicientwidth to engage both said ratchet and said cam and means for adjusting the angular position of the cut-away portion of said cam to determine the number of teeth of the ratchet engaged by the cam in each oscillation thereof.

10. A dial-engraving machine including a cut-- I ter, means for reciprocating the cutter over the dial in a radial direction, means for depressing the cutter to take a cut from the edge toward the center of the dial including a latch mechanism to hold the butter in cutting position, means for releasing the latch and raising the cutter out of the dial when-the desired length of out has been made including a dog forming part of the latch mechanism and mounted on the cutter-reciprocating means, a plurality of discs positioned to be engaged by said dog for the release of the latch during forward motion of the cutter and having a combined thickness corresponding to the shortest line to be engraved, said discs being notched at their peripheries to present varying combined disc thickness to the dog whereby the latch is released at corresponding lengths of cut and means for rotating said disc assembly. with respect to said dog through a selected angle after each cutting stroke of the cutter.

11. -A dial-engraving machine including a cutter,, means for continually reciprocating the same radially over the dial in a. constant length of stroke, means for depressing the cutter below the surface of the dial at the beginning of the cutting stroke and means for raising the cutter out of the dial during each cutting stroke when the" desired length of out has been made.

12. A dial-engraving machine including a cutter, means for continually reciprocating the same radially over the dial in a constant length of stroke, means for depressing the cutter below the surface of the dial at the beginning of the.

'13. A dial-engraving machine including a cutter, means for continually reciprocating the same radially over the dial in a'constant length 01' stroke, means for depressing the cutter below the surface of the dial at the beginning of the cutting stroke, meansfor raising the cutter out of the dial during each cutting stroke and means for controlling the point of operation of said cutterraising means in successive strokes whereby the lengths of successive lines can be controlled in accordance with a predetermined schedule.

14. 'A dial-engraving machine including a cutter, a cutter head, a. cutter-head carrier, 9. reciprocating ram, means pivoting the cutter-head carrier on said ram on an axis perpendicular to the direction of motion of the ram and parallelto the surface being engraved, a pair oi stops limiting the angular motion of the cutter-head carrier on said pivot to a small angle, means normally t'ensioning the cutter-head carrier against one of said stops, means locking the cutter-head carrier against the other of said stops when a cut is to be made and means for controlling for each succeeding reciprocation oi the ram the operation of said locking means whereby the g5 lengths of successive cuts can be controlled.

'- HOWARD A. SAT'I'ERLEE; 

